Ibarbo Park Coordinates with BKSDA to Capture Monkeys on the Loose at SMPN 1 Kalasan

Three monkeys on the loose caused a stir after roaming the grounds of SMPN 1 Kalasan in Sleman. Officers are still attempting to evacuate the animals. “Regarding information about long-tailed macaques seen roaming around SMPN 1 Kalasan, we can confirm that the animals have not yet been successfully captured to be re-caged,” said Ibarbo Park General Manager Ajris Sufata when contacted on Saturday (25/7/2026). However, based on monitoring by the Ibarbo Park team, the monkeys return to the Ibarbo Park area every evening. The park is currently continuing internal coordination with the community and has filed a report with the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) for handling. “We are currently continuing to coordinate internally, with the community, and filing a report with BKSDA in carrying out careful handling efforts so that the evacuation process can be carried out safely, both for the animals and the surrounding community,” he explained. Ajris urged the public not to approach, feed, or attempt to capture the monkeys independently to avoid unwanted risks. Previously, it was reported that three monkeys were roaming and had entered the grounds of SMP Negeri 1 Sleman. The presence of the monkeys was said to have disrupted teaching and learning activities at the school. Security officer at SMPN 1 Sleman, Ahmad Fauzan, said the group of monkeys was first spotted yesterday morning (22/7/2026). The presence of the three monkeys caused a commotion among the school community. “Yes, Wednesday afternoon, they were discovered in the afternoon. This morning they were still here, it turns out they are still at the school, around the school, three of them,” Fauzan explained when met at SMPN 1 Sleman, Jetis, Caturharjo, Sleman, on Thursday (23/7). “Actually, I don’t really understand, I don’t really know, because when I was on night duty on Tuesday night, I was shining a torch out the back and there were no animals. But on Wednesday morning, there were three monkeys entering the school and the children were in an uproar. That’s why I myself was also shocked by this issue,” he added. “As for today, a teacher complained that they were disturbing, somewhat disturbing. Because when the monkey passes by the classroom corridor, the children’s attention automatically goes there. It disrupts the children’s concentration during lessons,” he said. Fauzan said the school had tried to trace the origin of the three monkeys. It was eventually discovered that the monkeys came from a tourist attraction called Ibarbo Park, which is located not far from the school. “For now, we have confirmed that they are from Ibarbo. Ten monkeys escaped yesterday, and they said four had been caught. Now, I’ve confirmed again that seven have been caught, meaning there are still three at the school,” he explained. When asked for separate confirmation, Ibarbo Park GM Ajris Sufata confirmed that the three monkeys originated from Ibarbo. “We used to have monkeys, it was for, our business is a tourist park, and there was a mini zoo. Then there was a lot of feedback on Google that the monkeys were smelly,” Ajris explained when contacted. The monkeys were planned to be handed over to a community. Therefore, the monkeys were moved to individual cages from their original enclosure. However, because the new cages were not suitable, the monkeys escaped. “After being moved to the cages near SMP 1, last November if I’m not mistaken, they escaped. So they weren’t the original monkey cages, they were like small box-shaped cages, like small cat cages,” he revealed. Ibarbo Park has made various efforts to recapture the monkeys. Ajris explained that a total of 10 monkeys escaped, but seven have been successfully secured. “Some were caught and have been given to a community. The remaining three, which we were searching for yesterday, turned out to be at SMP 1,” Ajris concluded.